Let me remind you again that the name of the book, Micah, is basically the theme of the book. "Micah" translated means, "who is like Yahweh". "Yahweh" is the most important name for God used in the scriptures and the Jewish people won’t even write the name, instead they write "G-D". Yahweh is the "Creator" and "the One who controls history".

The outline I suggested for your study of Micah listed Micah 1-3 as the "proclamation" it is the "proclamation of judgment, in the future, based upon the past sins of the Jews". The Lord Himself, "Yahweh", is the one who will be the "witness" in what seems like a "global courtroom".

Micah 1:2-3 reveals the Lord coming from "His place", from His "holy temple", to make known to the entire Earth the sins of the Jewish people. Remember, the Lord had set in place a "special people", the Jewish people as a "kingdom of priest", to work among the other peoples of the world as a representative of the Lord.

These "chosen people" had been disobedient publicly, and now He is going to chastise them publicly. Verse two has the Lord saying to the world, "Hear, all ye people". Micah 3:1 also calls for the world to "Hear". The Lord is going to use the Jewish people to teach all the rest of humankind how He wants His people to live.

Though the Prophet Micah is a prophet to the two tribes in the south, Judah, he also has the ten northern tribes, Israel, in mind in some of his prophetic challenge. Both the north and the south are under judgment and the Lord will use human governments, the Assyrians with the ten tribes in the north and Babylon for the two tribes in the south, to bring about this judgment.

For our devotional reading today I have only had you to read the first nine verses of Micah 1but if you have the time please read Micah 1-3, it will give you further insight into the sins of the Jews and the reason for God’s judgment upon them. The practical aspect of this is that we can see what displeases the Lord and make certain that we are not living that way ourselves.

By the way, these first three chapters in Micah are a perfect illustration of the principle found in Hebrews 12:6, "for whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth". We will all face His discipline if we are disobedient to Him.

As it relates prophetically to these days in which we live, the chastening of the Jewish people has been, and is today in progress. It will continue until the Jews turn to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In a later devotional we will look at Micah 7 where the Prophet prays to the Lord for "pardon" and it is granted to the Jews, when they repent and turn back to Him.

In our devotional readings in Micah 4-5 we will see the "prophetic" revealed to us and realize that we are living in the times spoken of by the Prophet. That means that the next event in God’s plan for the end of times, the Rapture, is upon us and indeed it could even happen today. Even so come Lord Jesus.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Since the Rapture could happen today, dear Lord, I need your power to live this day in obedience to your Word, realizing that disobedience will result in chastisement, and thats only because you love me.